The Eppes Method I  Forgiveness
by Tali1980
Summary: Colby has trouble coming to terms with his mistakes in the episode "Mole" and needs Don's help. Warning, disciplinary spanking of an adult. No slash. Don't like it, don't read. The beginning starts during episode "Longshot".


**The Eppes Method i – Forgiveness **

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_I don't own Numb3rs, CBS or any of the characters._

_This is my first story ever and I am not a native English speaker so please be gentle with your reviews. I have already written more stories so if you like this and would be willing to Beta-read please contact me._

_Last warning: This story contains the disciplinary spanking of an adult. No slash though._

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Colby and Liz Warner walk out to their cars.

"So you know Don pretty well, huh?" Colby asked.

"You know what Quantico is like." Liz said.

"Yeah, I bet he was a pretty tough instructor, huh?"

"He was just back from the field."

"Fugitive hunting?"

"Yeah," She nodded, "And still getting used to being back in civilization." She paused to look at him, "Any reason you're asking?"

"I messed up a little while back." He shrugged.

"Well, I can tell you this much. Fact you're still here, means something. I guess you got your share of the 'Eppes-Method'?" she asks smiling.

"The what?" Colby returns puzzled. Liz starts to blush "Uhm, never mind …"

"Come on, tell me. What did you mean by the 'Eppes-Method'?" the FBI agent urges her.

Liz blushes deeper, "Well let me say it like this. If one of the recruits at Quantico messed up, Don never liked to give us formal reprimands. He always said it'd just hurt our carriers but wouldn't teach us anything. Instead he asked you to come to his office after hours for a 'talk'."

"What does that mean? I am not sure I get it." Colby looks confused

"You know…," she says embarrassed, "he never spoke much during these 'talks'. Instead you left his office with a sore butt and a clean conscience"

"Oh" was all Colby could answer. But in a way he wasn't all that surprised. For some reason this seemed to fit Don.

"It really wasn't that bad. We were still so young then. And he definitely had our best interests at heart." Liz hurried to add.

Colby left her deep in thought - her words "a clean conscience" echoing in his head. That was something he definitely did not have. He had tried to make up for his mess up with Dwayne but he still felt guilty for the way he let his boss and his Co-Workers and friends down.

Besides his comments that consequences would be dire next time, Don actually had been very good. There had been no formal reprimand, no bad words afterwards. Don simply made it clear that he wouldn't tolerate the same behavior twice but seemed to have moved on. The problem was that Colby didn't seem able to do the same.

He took a deep breath trying to shake the thoughts out of his head. He made a new commitment to himself to be the best agent he could be and show Don that he really deserved to be on his team. And his chance – or so he thought – came only a few days later.

The team got called to a domestic hostage situation. Don took the lead and instructed Colby to guard the backdoor. Through a window next to the door he could see a small boy cowering in the corner of a dingy bedroom – maybe the son of the mom taken hostage by her ex husband. He radioed Don telling him that he could get the child out without a problem. Don just asked, "Do you have full view of the back door and the kid's bedroom door from where you are?"

"Yes" Colby answered. "Alright, if a guy in jeans and a white T-Shirt comes into the room, you shoot, otherwise stay put" Don instructed.

Colby was puzzled. This was a child after all and with all the commotion in front he could easily get him out to safety before anyone was the wiser. He really didn't want to shoot somebody in front of this little guy who looked no older than 4 or 5.

Remembering his commitment to be an exceptional agent he quietly opened the window and climbed in. He put his finger on his mouth to signal to the kid to be quiet. But before he could do anything he heard footsteps running towards the back of the house passing the room he was in and out the backdoor. The backdoor he was supposed to be guarding. Colby felt a chill running down his spine. Quickly he jumped back out of the window and ran after the suspect. Luckily he was a lot faster and tackled him about 100 yards away from the house. After he put handcuffs on the suspect he looked up and saw Don look at him with an unreadable expression.

When Don came after the suspect through the backdoor it took him all of 2 seconds to figure out that Colby hadn't been where he was supposed to be. The open window to the child's room confirmed his suspicion. Don was overcome with the feeling that he knew exactly what was going on with his agent. Colby had acted insecure ever since the situation with Dwayne went down. For a couple days Don thought his bad conscience would be a good reminder to not lie and deceive again but Colby didn't seem to get over it. Don sighed. He needed to put this right.

When they got back to the office Colby was truly miserable. Don hadn't said a word to him on the way back. "Maybe I screwed up for good this time" he thought. As the others walked to their desks Don motioned for Colby to follow him into a meeting room. Megan and David looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

After closing the door Colby took a breath to start apologizing but Don raised his hand and cut him off, "I don't want to hear it. You and I need to have a talk but not here. You live really close to my Dad's house and he and Charlie are gone tonight. I want you to come over at eight. Got it?". "Got it" was all Colby could reply.

"The report will keep to Monday. Go home for now and do some thinking. When you come over later I want you to tell me exactly why you did what you did today." Colby still could not read Don's expression or tone. He was obviously angry and disappointed but there seemed to be more. But it was also obvious that he didn't want anything further to do with Colby so he just nodded and left. He could not even bring himself to say anything to Megan and David on his way out he felt so bad.

Later that night Colby put on some comfortable clothes and walked over to the Eppes house. He dreaded having to talk to Don but at least being invited to a private place seemed to mean that he was probably not going to be fired. The thought made the young agent feel a bit better.

Don opened the door and offered him a beer. Colby was put off a bit by the nice gesture but took it just to have something in his hands.

"Ok, do you want to tell me about today? Why did you disobey my orders?" Don started their discussion off without any small talk.

"I am really sorry I didn't do like you said but he was just a scared little kid. I couldn't leave him there. I am sorry" Colby replied.

"I understand that you wanted to help a child but you have never disobeyed my orders like that. You put yourself in unnecessary danger as well as the child and your teammates and I cannot tolerate that. I think there is more to this and I think you know it too. Why don't you try to be honest with me?" Don asked him again "Why did you go against my order?"

The surprisingly gentle tone and obvious worry undid Colby. He could have withstood anger but the understanding in Don's voice was too much. He sat down on a chair and put his face in his hands. Through his fingers he mumbled "I wanted to make you proud of me."

"What makes you think I am not proud of you, Colby? You are a great young agent and have done more in just a few months for this team than I could have expected you to." Don responded kindly.

Colby looked up in astonishment. "But Dwayne …"

"Yes, the Dwayne situation was a big mistake. And I wasn't joking when I said next time you'll go to jail. But everyone makes mistakes. That doesn't make you a bad agent. It makes you a good agent who made a big mistake. What you do with these mistakes is important. You learn from them and move on."

"Oh …," Colby's face fell, "… and now I messed up again."

"Yes you did. But I know now that I should have talked to you after last time. I should have told you that I really wasn't all that mad about you trying to help your friend. I was more disappointed that you didn't trust us enough to find out the truth. I felt like I did something wrong if you didn't think we would have figured it out had he really been innocent."

Colby looked at him in surprise "I never really thought of it that way. I am so sorry. I trust you with my life and I love to work for you. I am just not sure I deserve it after what happened."

Don sat down next to him touching his shoulder, "Yes, and that seems to be the root cause for what we saw today. And not just today by the way. I did notice that you have been acting recklessly in the last couple of weeks. Colby, you don't need to play the hero to prove yourself. Especially not when all you really do is put yourself and others in unnecessary danger. You mean too much to the team. How do you think we could deal if something happened to you? You are important to us. You might not believe it but I had forgiven you for the Dwayne thing almost right away. But I should have told you."

Colby nodded but still looked miserable, "I am just not sure how you can forgive me for what I did."

Don looked sadly at him, "I think what you are really not sure about is how to forgive yourself and start fresh with a clean conscience, isn't it?"

Despite his misery Colby let out a sad little laugh. "What is it?" Don asked puzzled.

"Your friend Liz told me about you in Quantico and mentioned the Eppes… well she just said something about you that I just remembered. Never mind." he blushed.

"No tell me," Don encouraged, "what did you two talk about?"

Colby blushed furiously. Why was he such an idiot to bring this up? Embarrassed he answered, "Well she said that you used something she called the 'Eppes-Method' that would help them have a clean conscience if they messed up. But it was really nothing. Let's not talk about it."

Don smiled in reminiscence, "You know that really worked great back then. Those youngsters knew they were out of line but they also knew they were forgiven once we were done. Something like that probably would have avoided the situation you and I are in right now, young man."

Colby blushed again and looked to the floor. He so desperately wanted to feel better.

Don was lost in thought for a moment. Only when he had spoken these last words did a little "what if" come to him. What if he gave Colby the same treatment his recruits used to get? He was a grown man but Don was sure Colby would feel sufficiently punished to forgive himself. Maybe that was worth more than a bit of embarrassment? He made a quick decision.

"You know what Colby. I think it is time the 'Eppes-Method' was put to good use again. Why don't you go to the Den and wait for me there."

Colbys heart jumped "You cannot be serious," he protested, "I am almost thirty years old. I don't deser… ," he suddenly grew quiet and looked at the floor again.

"Exactly," Don said gently, "I think you feel you deserve a punishment. And I don't do reprimands that will not do anyone any good. And we already made clear that I want you on my team," He sighed, "Colby, I don't really want to do this, but it will make you feel like the slate has been wiped clean. You'll be able to forgive yourself and move on."

Colby looked at the floor struggling with himself. It hurt Don to see his agent in distress but he knew that Colby had to accept his punishment for it to have any effect. Suddenly Colby seemed to have made up his mind. He nodded slowly and stood up. "I'll be right there." Don said as Colby walked to the Den.

In the Den the young agent started pacing nervously. He really didn't know what to expect besides some form or corporal punishment. He was wondering what Don was going to use on him. He didn't need to wonder for long. Don came in with a ping pong paddle in his hand. Colby let out a little breath of relief. He had imagined much worse.

Don laughed, "Don't be too happy. This thing does sting quite a bit."

"I don't doubt it. Can we get it over with quickly?" Colby pleaded. When Don nodded he turned around and starting bending over a table.

"Hold on," Don stopped him, "What are you doing?"

Colby blushed, "In the army we had an instructor who would make us take it that way when he ..."

Don stepped next to him, put a hand around his upper arm and started making his way towards the couch with his agent in tow, "I don't doubt that you could 'take it' this way. You'd grit your teeth and be stoic and in the end would not get much relief from the guilt you are feeling. Colby, this punishment today is not intended for you 'to take'. It is intended for you to let go. That's why we are doing this a bit differently." With these words Don sat on the couch. Only then did it occur to Colby that his boss intended to put him over his knees like a naughty child.

Panicky he started to pull away, "No you can't do this. Please, Don. I do everything you say but not like this. Please don't." He knew he sounded like a scared kid and just hated it.

"Colby, trust me. It will be alright. Don't make this harder on yourself than it has to be. Come back here and take the punishment you know you deserve." Don encouraged.

Colby just could not bring himself to step any closer to Don but he didn't move backwards anymore either. He just stood in limbo out of Don's reach but not going anywhere. His mind was spiraling and he just didn't know what to do.

"Listen Colby. I'll make this easy for you. You are coming here now. If I have to come get you your spanking will be worse. Is that what you want?" Don asked trying to calm his agent down.

Colby shook his head but still couldn't move. Don looked at him expectantly but gave up after a minute. He sighed knowing that willingly submitting to his first spanking over his boss's knee was maybe a bit too much to ask of the young man. He stood up and walked the couple steps over to Colby. He was proud that this agent did not try to get away any further. He took Colby by the arm and spun him around.

**SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK**

5 spanks with the ping pong paddle landed in rapid succession on Colby's sweat pants.

"Are you ready to start your punishment now?" Don asked.

Colby nodded blushing furiously. The spanks had hurt but not too bad yet. Don took his upper left arm and pulled him towards the couch.

Sitting down he tugged on Colby's left arm and right hand so that the agent didn't have much choice but lay over his bosses lap. Colby hid his face in the fabric of the couch making a promise to himself to take anything Don was going to give him like a man and not to embarrass himself any further.

Don secured his agent over his knees. He let out a little smile at the way Colby hid his face. Putting the ping pong paddle aside he started spanking Colby with his open hand in a steady rhythm.

He alternated cheeks and went all up and down Colby's butt and sit spot all the way to his upper tights. He knew that the spanks on Colby's pants would not hurt very much but provide a nice warm up for what was to come.

After about 25 smacks Don took Colby's sweat pants down to his knees. He was glad Colby had not decided to wear jeans which would have led to a much more embarrassing scene for his agent.

Colby did not seem to agree, "No. Please …" but was suddenly quiet again remembering his good intentions. Don was impressed.

He continued spanking the younger man on his boxer shorts. Colby could not believe how much more his boss's spanks hurt with just his boxers for protection. Don was spanking hard. His butt was getting hot and stinging all over. But he vowed to himself to take what he had coming.

After another 20 spanks Don started his lecture,

"I want you" **SPANK** "to understand" **SPANK** "that you are" **SPANK** "forgiven" **SPANK** "for the situation" **SPANK** "with Dwayne." **SPANK** "You made" **SPANK** "a mistake" **SPANK** "in not" **SPANK** "trusting me." **SPANK** **SPANK** **SPANK** "You were" **SPANK** "dishonest" **SPANK** "and disrespectful" **SPANK** "but you are forgiven." **SPANK** **SPANK** **SPANK** "What you really need" **SPANK** **SPANK** "is to forgive yourself" **SPANK** "instead of" **SPANK** "pulling foolish stunts" **SPANK** **SPANK** "as you did today." **SPANK** **SPANK** **SPANK**

Colby's butt started to hurt in earnest. Despite his vow to accept and take his punishment he started to let out little yelps and grunts with each spank. But Don was far from done.

"Today you were disobedient." **SPANK SPANK SPANK** "I want you to know" **SPANK SPANK SPANK** "that any repeated disrespect" **SPANK** "dishonesty" **SPANK** "disobedience" **SPANK** "or endangering yourself" **SPANK** "will from now on" **SPANK** **SPANK** "earn you a trip" **SPANK** "over my knee" **SPANK** "each" **SPANK** "and" **SPANK** "every" **SPANK** "time." **SPANK** "Understood?"

Tears started to form in Colby's eyes. His butt hurt so much but his heart hurt more. Hearing Don list his "crimes" made him feel so guilty.

"I asked you" **SPANK** "if you understood" **SPANK** "me" **SPANK SPANK SPANK**

"Yes sir" Colby cried out. Tears started to roll down his cheeks now. Don knew he was close to his breaking point. He rubbed a few circles on his back and said softly to him "You are doing great Colby. We are almost done here. I want you to let go of the guilt now, ok?" Don picked up the ping pong paddle knowing it was time to come to an end.

"You are a" **SMACK** "great agent." **SMACK** "I am not tolerating" **SMACK** "you risking" **SMACK** "your life" **SMACK** "because you think" **SMACK** "you have something to prove" **SMACK** **SMACK** **SMACK** "You are very" **SMACK** "important to all of us." **SMACK** "You are one of us" **SMACK** **SMACK** **SMACK** . "More importantly" **SMACK** "you are one of mine." **SMACK** **SMACK** **SMACK** "I will protect you even it is from yourself."

**SMACK** **SMACK** **SMACK** **SMACK** **SMACK**

Five smacks landed on Colby's tender undercurve. He was crying in earnest now. His vow was long forgotten. Don put the ping pong paddle away and spoke close to his ear, "If we ever have to do this again you will get your spanking bare."

With these words he pulled Colbys boxers down quickly and gave him 5 more hard spanks with his open hand on the sit spot.

**SPANK SPANK SPANK SPANK SPANK**

Colby's backside ignited under the hand spanks and his crying increased to sobbing. Knowing that his agent should feel thoroughly punished now, Don pulled his boxers and sweat pants up gently. Colby let out an anguished sob as the material touched his butt but Don thought he'd prefer it covered anyway. He just let Colby lay over his knee crying all his guilt and feelings out.

Don continued with rubbing circles on his agent's back and speaking softly to him, "I meant every word I said. You are very important to us. You are part of the team and you are one of mine. I always thought of the team as family and family looks out for each other. I will protect you and have your back whatever may come."

Slowly Colby started to calm down. He was so cried out and drained his eye lids where dropping. Don gently lifted him off his lap and just laid him right back on the couch. He covered Colby with a blanket and whispered in his ear "Why don't you take a nap and come out when you are ready?"

The "nap" really became a great nights sleep - the first in a very long time for Colby. He woke up alert and refreshed at 7 am in the Eppes house. After his initial confusion the events of the previous night rushed back in. He groaned and hid himself under the blanket his boss must have put on him. He was so happy it was Saturday and he was off. All he had to do was to sneak out of the house without being seen by anyone, especially without being seen by Don. In a way he really wanted to talk to him but he really didn't want to do it with Charlie and Mr. Eppes around.

Gingerly he sat up. His butt was still hurting from the spanking Don had given him. He grimaced. "I guess I deserved it" he thought to himself. He got up and found his way to the downstairs bathroom. There he found an envelope with his name on it - inside a note from Don, "Colby don't even think about leaving this house. You and I still need to talk about a few things. Have breakfast with us and then we'll find a quiet spot."

He frowned. That was really not what he wanted to do but there wasn't really much of a choice. He took his time and showered. His butt felt hot all over again as the warm water hit it but a little lotion he found made it feel better. He turned around and looked at the mirror. His butt was still pretty red but didn't seem bruised at all. From the way it felt Colby was almost surprised. But then again Don didn't really strike him as a guy who would inflict permanent damage.

He made his way into the kitchen just to find Mr. Eppes there. Colby blushed a bit wondering if he needed to explain why he was there but Alan Eppes beat him to it "Oh hey Colby, Donnie told me that you slept in the Den after coming over last night. I hope the couch was comfy."

"Yes, thank you Mr. Eppes." Colby responded relieved.

"Call me Alan please," Mr. Eppes smiled at him, "Do you want some coffee? And I am making pancakes. I think Donnie is already up and in the shower and I heard Charlie on the phone. Both of them should be here in a little while."

"Sure I'd like some coffee." Colby responded with a smile sinking down on one of the kitchen chairs. Big mistake. As soon as his butt hit the chair he let out a hiss of pain.

Alan looked at him curiously, "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I am fine," Colby blushed furiously. Alan Eppes turned around and smiled to himself. He had seen this before and he had also observed that Colby had walked a bit stiffly when he came in the kitchen.

"I guess the 'Eppes-Method' is back," he thought to himself, "I wonder if it will occur to Colby where Don has it from."

Colby was spared any more embarrassment for the moment by the entry of the two brothers. The four men had a pleasant breakfast with pancakes and orange juice, toast and talking, laughter and bantering. Colby who lived alone had really missed this closeness of a family.

That made him think of Don saying that he thought of the team as a family. Which was actually a pleasant thought but it also made him think of last night and that Don still wanted to talk to him. Suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore. His face fell and he pushed his plate aside.

Don had seen his change of mood but luckily the other two where oblivious – or at least Charlie was.

Don got up and said to his brother and father, "Would you two mind if we leave you with the dishes? Colby and I need to do some stuff."

"No problem. Don't work so hard," laughed Charlie who just made the assumption that they were doing something for the FBI. Alan just smiled to himself.

Don took Colby outside into a beautiful May morning and sat on the back stairs with him.

"How are you feeling this morning?" he asked kindly.

"Sore," came a grumpy reply.

"Hey what's with the attitude?" Don replied surprised.

"Well you try waking up in a different house with a sore butt and being ordered to stay for breakfast even though you don't want to. See how you like it." Colby could not believe how petulant he sounded. He wasn't even sure why he was so mad at Don all of the sudden. Breakfast had been very nice.

"Listen young man. You are very close to being disrespectful and I think we covered last night what kind of consequences that will have for you backside from now on. So unless you want me to walk you over to your own apartment and give you another spanking I'd suggest you keep the attitude in check right now." Don responded sternly.

Colby blushed and looked down at the floor. It wasn't so much the thread of another spanking that made him calm down instantly. It was more that Don didn't suggest it would happen in this house with his father and brother present. He still looked out for Colby's privacy.

"Sorry Don"

"It's ok. Let's just start over. How are you feeling – I mean in here?" Don put his hand on Colby's chest to indicate he was more interested in the younger man's emotional state.

"Actually…," and Colby was surprised to discover this himself, "… a lot better. I slept awesome for the first time in weeks and I don't feel rotten anymore."

"So is all the guilt gone? You believe again that you deserve to be part of this team?" Don asked.

"Yes, I think I do," Colby smiled at him shyly.

"Great. I am glad to have my agent back. And I think we determined that the 'Eppes-Method' works just as well when you are a bit older." Don grinned.

Colby's smile faltered a bit "I am not sure what you are trying to say …"

"Yes I think you are," Done became suddenly serious, "But maybe it's important for me to make it clear to you here and now again. You are one of the team. You are family to me. If I get any disrespect, disobedience or dishonesty from you or if you endanger your life unnecessarily again we will have a repeat of last night. And I wasn't joking about you getting your spanking on the bare either. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," Colby's reply instantly. The idea of getting another spanking over Don's knee on his bare butt was everything but appealing.

Then he broke out into a shy grin "So am I the only recipient of the 'Eppes-Method'?"

"You know what, right now you are but as well as it works you may very well not stay the only one," Don answered with a grin of his own, "But kid, do me a favor, ok?"

"Sure what is it?"

"Don't get into new trouble too soon. I really didn't like having to give you a spanking."

"Sure, I can live with never getting into trouble with you again but I guess that is not super likely to happen, is it?" laughed Colby

"Probably not. But let's put it off for a while," was Don's answer, "Alright do you want to go home and leave this evil house or would you like spending the day here with some company maybe watching some sports and just hanging out? We can even ask David and Megan to come over tonight?"

"You know, I'd really like that. Let me just run home for a change of clothes and I'll be back in an hour?" Colby replied.

"Sounds good." Don smiled at his agent wondering what the future would bring.


End file.
